Declaring "respect" for tribal sovereignty, California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger (R) on Tuesday said he would appoint a negotiator
to seek a greater share of Indian gaming revenues.

During his first State of the State speech, the actor repeated a familiar
theme of his controversial campaign, in which he shunned tribes
as special interests and attacked rivals for accepting tribal donations.
He said the state deserves its "fair share" of the money made at more
than 50 tribal casinos.

"I respect the sovereignty of our Native American tribes and I believe they
also respect the economic situation that California faces," Schwarzenegger
said.

Beyond those words, Schwarzenegger offered no concrete plan for working with tribes.
He only said he would name the negotiator in the coming days.

But his aides have pointed to Connecticut as a model. Under compacts negotiated
nearly a decade ago, two tribes with casinos share 25 percent of their slot machine
revenues with the state. Last year alone, the deal netted the state upwards of
$400 million.

Facing a budget shortfall of $15 billion, Schwarzenegger isn't the only
state official turning to Indian gaming for help. Nationwide, a total of
seven states have some sort of revenue-sharing arrangement with tribes,
although none as lucrative as Connecticut's.

In California, a new compact could change that landscape. Tribes
there brought in an estimated $5 billion last year, helping
propel the Indian gaming nationwide to a $14.5 billion industry.

The numbers, though, are sketchy -- before he was removed from office
during the recall, former Gov. Gray Davis (D) said tribes could
contribute up to $1.5 billion to the state. He later revised the
figure to $680 million before apologizing to tribes for even suggesting
to renegotiate the compacts.

During the recall campaign, tribes were offended by their portrayal as special
interests and were critical of ads that portrayed their governments as
tax dodgers. But they are willing to work with Schwarzenegger,
according to the head of an influential inter-tribal organization.

"California's Indian gaming tribes are eager to meet with the negotiator
to be appointed by the governor so that we can discuss gaming issues,"
said Anthony Miranda, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming
Association (CNIGA).

Miranda said he agreed with Schwarzenegger's emphasis on jobs,
pointing out that California tribes have created 42,000 new jobs.
"Indian gaming has been the only job sector to grow in dramatic fashion,"
he said.

"Jobs add revenues to the state budget. Jobs give stability to our
society. Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. The more jobs the better," Schwarzenegger
said during his speech.

If the timeline sticks, Schwarzenegger will have named a negotiator
in time for CNIGA's 9th annual Western Indian Gaming Conference. More
than 1,000 tribal leaders, gaming executives,
and federal and state officials are expected to attend the
event, which is being held next week in Palm Springs. CNIGA, which represents
59 tribes with and without casinos, will hold is annual membership
meeting on Friday following the conclusion of the conference.

Under 20-year compacts approved by the Clinton administration in 2000,
California tribes contribute about $140 million to the state. Before leaving
office, Davis negotiated agreements with some tribes that require 5 percent revenue-sharing
rate. Some tribes also make hefty contributions to local governments for
law enforcement, traffic, fire, safety and other impacts.

The compacts impose a 2,000 slot machine limit per tribe. Schwarzenegger
has said that "everything is on the table" when it comes to gaming, indicating
that he would consider lifting the restriction.